Quality v size- what is the best file type to rip DVDs to?

essexsi_2

Hi all,

When looking at all the different file types xvid, divx, avi etc, that you can rip dvds to, which one offers the best play off between reducing the file size for storage and maintaining quality.

Thanks for any help.

Si

i8change

Quality v size- what is the best file type to rip DVDs to?

It's the codec that is important not the file type, that is just a container for the output.

The latest most efficient is generally regarded to be x264.

http://www.dvd-guides.com/content/view/143/59/

So, what is H.264?
H.264 is a new video codec standard which can achieve high quality video in relatively low bitrates. You can think it as the “successor” of the existing formats (MPEG-2, DivX, XviD etc) as it aims in offering similar video quality in half the size of the formats mentioned before.

Rip the DVD with DVDFab, which will do the latest DVDs:-

http://www.videohelp.com/tools/DVDFab_Decrypter

Then use x264 to convert the DVD. Handbrake is good for this (I use it to make MP4 files for the PSP) :-

http://www.videohelp.com/tools/HandBrake

The Videohelp forums are great if you get any problems:-

http://forum.videohelp.com/

Good luck with your converting.

bat999

I agree with i8change that x264 gives the best quality for file size.
It gives nice small files ideal for uploading to YouTube.

But it uses lots of CPU power.:eek:

With my clunky single-core 2.26MHz Celeron it would take all night to convert a full movie.:mad:

So if you've got the muscle go with x264 video and aac sound in an mp4 container.

If you haven't, then fall back on MPEG-4 video and mp3 or aac sound in an avi or mp4 container.

It's up to you.

tronator

+1 for h.264

Use it inside a mkv container and you're able to keep several audio and subtitle streams. I use Handbrake for it...

markybaby

Anydvd with handbrake gives me perfect rips at about 2gb. This is crystal clear video and keeping the 5.1 ac3 soundtrack. Quad core does a film direct from dvd in about 45 minutes using mkv container. I am happy to share this with you as my wife is not at all interested.

essexsi_2

Thank you all for taking the time to reply.

I will have a good read through the links that you gave i8change, cheers for them.

I do have the free version of DVD Fab HD and have used the dvd to dvd option, but would like to store them on a hard drive for easier access.

I do not at present have much computer 'grunt', just a 2 year old Dell vostro 1500 laptop! Maybe a good reason for an upgrade!

Is it CPU that governs how fast a rip and conversion takes? Bigger CPU = faster? And then H264 is the way to go.

Cheers for all you input and help.

Si

i8change

Originally posted by essexsi
Is it CPU that governs how fast a rip and conversion takes? Bigger CPU = faster? And then H264 is the way to go.

I have converted our DVD collection for the other half to watch on a Sony PSP.

Speed wise, our original (circa 2003) Dell Pentium4 with 1GB RAM took all night!

My current (2 year old) PC tower has a basic Intel E2200 and 2GB RAM and and takes about 45 minutes to convert a movie, which is great.

A new PC with basic Intel i3 processor and 3GB of Ram would be more than adequate for converting your DVDs.

If speed is very important to you and you want to spend a lot of money on a PC specifically suited to the task, the specialist forums like videohelp are useful for advice as many on there will have gone that route and have experience.

If file size is important the Handbrake people are saying that their Constant Quality settings (rather than Constant Bitrate) are the way to go. Very efficient now apparently, it varies the bitrate so it is used less for the scenes where it is not required, saving filesize but maintaining quality.

Regarding file size and quality, the way x264 is set up is important.

Most people use the preset settings (often tailored for particular devices PSP, iPod Touch etc) but they can have a big affect on the outcome.

I have used x264 via PSP Video 9, Handbrake and XviD4PSP and the results varied quite a bit. When using the Handbrake "Apple Universal" preset the files where around one and a half times the size I would get using an XviD4PSP preset, even though both were set to convert at Constant Quality 20.

This was because the "Universal" preset produced an extra audio track "track2, AC3 Passthru" that was not required for the PSP and it was there to make the preset more universal to cover various devices.

So remember to decide which devices you are likely to play the files on then, if necessary, edit any preset you use so it suits your requirements (it was very easy in Handbrake to delete the unwanted second audio track from the preset settings.)

Quality is mostly affected by the video Frame Size (480 x 272 etc.) and Bitrate (or Constant Quality setting) you choose. I, personally, don't find the other settings as important especially as they can sometimes be both beneficial or detrimental depending on the actual movie you are converting.

If you want to delve into those settings I found this blog useful, regardless of it's very strange title! :-

http://filthypants.blogspot.com/2008/07/comparison-of-x264h264-advanced-options.html

I chopped small "problem" scenes from movies (using DVD Shrink) which could be converted quickly, often in seconds.
It was then easy to experiment with the settings mentioned in the above link, but I did not find a mix of settings that were consistently an improvement over the Handbrake preset ones for all movies/scenes.

I suppose it makes sense that the software designers will be familiar enough with x264 that their "presets" setup x264 in a way that will produce good results.

I would say it is important to have a play first, before you spend lots of time converting, and to make sure you choose the right settings. But don't get too bogged down with the detail, there are no perfect settings for all movies/scenes.

One last thing. If you are going to display them on a large TV (rather than PC monitor, PSP etc.) you may be better off not converting them at all. Although x264 is good it does compress the video and you might find with hard drives getting larger and cheaper all the time that storing them in a DVD format is the best option.

I suppose, in the very near future, you could even think of DVD files as a sort of compressed HD/Bluray, that can be "upscaled" by your TV set and stored easily on your cheap 2TB hard drive.

Best of luck.

essexsi_2

Thanks very much for your help and detailed posts i8change. I have alot of reading to do!!

My main objective is to store the 'rips' on a hard drive and then play them back via a media player onto a big screen telly. Just for ease of use and access. Also I can tidy up the lounge of all the dvds!

I have not decided which media player but was looking at the usual suspects, Ioplay, wdtv, sumvision etc.

I didn't realise how reasonably priced hard drives are now, so like you say I may not want to convert them at all.

I believe dvdFab produces a rip in TS video format, I assume I can just drag and drop onto the hard drive and then connect up to the media player, sit back with popcorn!!!

Cheers Simon

i8change

Originally posted by essexsi
I believe dvdFab produces a rip in TS video format, I assume I can just drag and drop onto the hard drive and then connect up to the media player, sit back with popcorn!!!

It does TS and iso.

I did read/wade through this large WDTV thread a while ago:-

http://forum.videohelp.com/threads/296845-Western-Digital-HDMI-USB-Media-Player-%28WDAVN00BN%29

I like the sound of this bit:-

post 320 (page 11) Question

1 - how do you rip a dvd in its original uncompressed quality and maintain 5.1 surround sound so the wd media player will play it?

post 321 (page 11) Answer

1. Rip to iso (movie only) and play.

Sounds good and simple to me.

Tempted to buy one myself and go this route.

essexsi_2

Thanks again i8change.

Will wade through that as well. At least I am reading and learning alot!

Simple sounds good to me.

I did come across the Playon! HD mini which looks pretty neat and gets good reviews.

Cheers Si

Aiadi

An excellent tool to put DVD into MPEG container with amazing quality preservation and I have used it to archive all my important family videos. The nice thing I find about MPEG is the ability to manipulate it using most of the video editing suites:

http://www.svcd2dvd.com/V!!!MPG/default.aspx

Review of the tool on Videohelp:

http://www.videohelp.com/tools/V!!!MPG